Bøker av Muriel Barbery

Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society's expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Renee: passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives. Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Renee lives resigned to her lonely lot with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever.

Shortlisted for the Prix Jean Giono, the temples and teahouses of Kyoto are the scene of a Frenchwoman's emotional awakening in this life-affirming novel by international bestseller Muriel BarberyRose has just turned forty when she is unexpectedly summoned to Japan for the reading of her father Haru's will, who seemingly abandoned her when she was a baby. Leaving behind her life as a botanist in Paris, Rose travels to Kyoto and is led around its enchanting tea houses, temples and zen gardens by Paul, Haru's former assistant. Initially a reluctant tourist, Rose gradually comes to discover her father's legacy through the itinerary he set for her, finding gifts greater than she had ever imagined and connecting with gentle widower Paul. This stunning novel from international bestseller Muriel Barbery is a mesmerising story of second chances, of beauty born out of grief and roses grown from ashes.

From the bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes the story of one man's promise to keep a secret that may hold him from the greatest joy possible. Haru, a successful Japanese art dealer, appreciates beauty, harmony, balance, and good sake. A few months after an affair with Maud, a mysterious Frenchwoman, he learns that she is pregnant with his child. But she issues him a heartbreaking warning: if he ever tries to see her or the child, she will kill herself. Quietly devastated, Haru respects Maud's wishes. And Rose grows up on the other side of the world, without ever knowing her father. Is it too late to change things?From international bestseller Muriel Barbery comes a stunning tale of friendship, family secrets, and the enduring love of a father forced to live in the shadows.

Romanen er delt inn i korte kapitler som veksler mellom Reneés og Palomas fortellerstemme. 12-åringen Paloma deler sine tanker og dagbok om verdens bevegelser med oss, mens Reneé, en 54 år gammel enke, fremfører sine iakttakelser med underfundig klokskap og sosial satire.

Pierre Arthens, gourmet, venter på døden. Pierre bryr seg ikke mye om det, han er på jakt etter den ene smaksopplevelsen som han vet kan bringe frem et bestemt lykkelig minne fra barndommen.

France's greatest food critic is dying after a lifetime in single-minded pursuit of sensual delights. But as Pierre Arthens lies on his death bed, he is tormented by an inability to recall the most delicious food to ever pass his lips, which he ate long before becoming a critic."